Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced the government is aiming for a “significant” reduction in prices of petrol and diesel following a decline in global oil prices due to the peace deal inked between the United States and Iran.
“We had promised that we would bring the price of petroleum products down and repay each penny to the people,” he said during a speech to the National Assembly. “So today, after our weekly review, we will announce a significant reduction,” he claimed, praising relevant ministers for effectively managing the oil crisis.
The price of petrol was Rs. 258.17/liter when the war began, peaking at Rs. 458.41/liter before gradually reducing to Rs. 373.78/liter today. Diesel similarly started at Rs. 275.7/liter pre-war and peaked at Rs. 520.35/liter before standing at Rs. 378.78/liter today.
During his speech, the prime minister chief ministers for backing the federal government in providing relief to the people through targeted subsidies. He recalled that when global oil prices had skyrocketed, the center had utilized around Rs. 128 billion to provide relief to the public through subsidies.
The premier’s announcement follows Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik telling media that Sharif had directed relevant authorities to immediately pass the benefit of falling international oil prices to consumers. “International oil prices are falling, and the prime minister has directed that the benefit be transferred to the public immediately. A high-level committee has also been formed to devise a formula for petroleum products,” he wrote on X.
Malik also credited the efforts of P.M. Sharif, Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for helping achieve the agreement between Iran and the U.S.
He said the government had commenced work on transparent weekly fuel-pricing mechanism so that “whenever changes are required in the future, people can understand the reasons behind them.”
The Iran-U.S. conflict had disrupted global fuel supplies after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass during peacetime. The rising fuel prices had triggered inflationary pressures globally.